Street Lab

This class does not meet at MCAD and is conducted entirely outside of the school environment. For the duration of the class, the city becomes the studio, where observation, exploration, inspiration, and interventions of varying sorts take place. Students of art and design practicing in any media are encouraged to participate. Individually and as a group, students roam urban and rural environments armed with cameras (photo and video) and other gear (or none at all) that might be useful for creating and documenting/capturing various "engagements." The course is guided by four primary goals: 1) to reconsider the definition of the art studio (where art is made vs. where it could be made); 2) to reconsider the definition of artwork (precious art object vs. temporary ephemeral occurrences); 3) to reconsider the differences between life and art (art in your life vs. your life in art); 4) to directly affect the world with work. Work produced in the above framework may range from manipulation of found, natural, and/or machine-/hand-made objects and materials to situations, performances, and actions executed in public spaces.